Hi Carl
A real shame to read about your teething troubles.
Definately worth changing the thermostat & double checking that there are no air locks lurking about in the cooling system.
Air locks can be a bit of a devil to shift at times.
Check you have a little free play on you clutch arm, may simply be slightly over adjusted.
You should be able to reach the clutch arm on the geabox from the engine bay.
Grab hold & give it a wee rattle back n forth, if it is seeming a little tight, perhaps it would be worth trying to slacken the cable a little if adjustable.
I guess with this kind of car it is just a matter of adopting a different driving position.
Quite short me & after sitting in mine, I know that I would never be able to sit as I normaly would in my regular car.
With my wonky bones, that's going to be real fun
Hope you get it all sorted soon
